Sleep Disorders Medication & Treatments

Sleep Disorders Treatment at Promises

Sleep deprivation and poor sleep quality can color every aspect of your life. Many clients who come to Promises for treatment suffer from sleep disorders that either contributed to their substance use or developed as a result of their drug or alcohol use. Treatment for sleep disorders is evidence-based and treats both the sleep disorder and the substance abuse.

Treatment for Sleep Disorders and Co-Occurring Issues

Medical Detox

If you have co-occurring substance abuse issues, the first step in recovery will be alcohol or drug detox. If you’ve developed a dependence on sleeping pills, detox may also be necessary. On the other hand, some people may experience sleep disturbances during the detoxification process. Their bodies and minds are not yet accustomed to being free of substances and this can affect sleep. Where appropriate, sleep medicine can be given to help with any sleeplessness. Tapers off prescription sleeping pills are sometimes an appropriate course of treatment as well. Our medical team will monitor you around the clock to make sure you’re safe and comfortable. We’ll attend to any withdrawal symptoms promptly.

Inpatient Rehab

Assessment

Our medical and psychiatric team will evaluate you for co-occurring issues like mental health disorders and substance abuse. This way we can address all of the issues that are contributing to your difficulties. It’s critical that clients who are having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep be evaluated for other medical and psychiatric disorders that can cause insomnia and other sleep disorders. For instance, we find many clients suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This condition sometimes causes obstructive sleep issues like nightmares and flashbacks. For people struggling with substance abuse, insomnia can trigger relapse. People with chronic insomnia are three times more likely to relapse than those without insomnia.

Individual and group therapy

You’ll delve into underlying reasons contributing to sleep issues and destructive behaviors in one-on-one counseling sessions. A trained therapist will help you tackle unhealthy thinking and heal emotional wounds. Group therapy is an opportunity to connect with peers that know where you’re coming from. You’ll gain new insight into yourself and problems. You’ll practice healthy communication skills.

Traditional and experiential approaches

In addition to individual and group therapy, we offer alternative treatment options. Substance abuse, mental health and sleep disorders treatments may include:

Behavioral therapies

Mindfulness and relaxation techniques

Neurofeedback

Trauma therapies

Acupuncture

Equine therapy

Fitness

Inpatient treatment helps you practice healthy self-care like good sleep hygiene. Regular sleep times help get circadian rhythms back in sync. Sleep medicine is used sparingly, if at all, as to discourage physical or psychological dependency on drugs in order to sleep.

Aftercare Planning

We prepare you for life after treatment. You’ll gain healthy coping skills for positive lifestyle changes. Aftercare planning may include:

Appointments with mental health professionals

Appointments with physicians or psychiatrists

Support groups

Sleep hygiene plan

Promises alumni meetings and events

About Sleep Disorders

Gallop polls show many American adults get around 6.8 hours total sleep a night. Some of the reasons for this is a fast-paced, busy culture, but many people aren’t getting enough sleep due to real medical conditions. The American Sleep Association estimates 50-70% of Americans have a sleep disorder.

Common Treatments for Sleep Disorders

There seems to be an unlimited amount of sleep disorder “remedies” on the market. Some are more effective than others. The type of sleep aids that work depend on the specifics of the sleep disorder. Some popular sleep aides include:

Bright light exposure or “light therapy”

Oral appliances for obstructive sleep apnea

Sleep diaries and sleep apps

Continuous positive airway pressure machines (CPAP)

Relaxation techniques

Meditation

Medication therapy for sleep disorders

Behavioral treatments like cognitive behavioral therapy

If poor sleep behaviors are due to drug and alcohol abuse or other issues, these conditions must be addressed to get to the root cause of the problem.

Common Sleep Disorders

According to the Stanford Center for Sleep Sciences and Medicine, there are over 100 types of sleep disorders. A variety of sleep disorders may occur with or without substance abuse. Some common sleep disorders include:

Chronic insomnia

People with chronic insomnia regularly have difficulty falling asleep, may wake up too early, or they may wake up periodically throughout the night and have trouble falling back asleep.

Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome

This issue causes snoring or an increase in respiratory effort that causes people to awake during sleep. It results in daytime disturbances like sleepiness and headaches.

Restless Leg Syndrome

Restless leg syndrome is a strong urge to move the leg accompanied by tingling, crawling or twitching sensations in the leg. Usually restless leg syndrome occurs at night, making it difficult to sleep. Treatment of restless legs includes adjusting sleep habits. Medication can help is some cases.

Narcolepsy

Narcolepsy is plagued by feelings of excessive sleepiness that may present a number of issues including hallucinations, sleep paralysis and cataplexy (muscle weakness or paralysis). During an episode of sleep paralysis, you feel conscious, but unable to move.

Obstructive sleep apnea

People with obstructive sleep apnea may experience very shallow breathing or breathing interruptions during sleep. This happens several times a night and makes it difficult to enter REM sleep. Throat muscles relax and block the airway. This can cause loud snoring.

Sleep terrors

Also called night terrors, sleep terrors are more common in children, but do occur in a small percentage of adults. Sleep terrors are characterized by intense fear during sleep that includes flailing and screaming.

Circadian rhythm disorders

Disorders of circadian rhythms include disruptions to the body’s internal clock that change sleep patterns and decrease sleep quality. Circadian rhythm disorders can result from jet lag, shift work (shift work sleep disorder) and narcolepsy. They can also occur by regularly going to bed very late and “sleeping in,” like sleep patterns of teenagers. This is a type of circadian rhythm sleep disorder known as delayed sleep phase syndrome.

Periodic limb movement disorder

This condition involves involuntary leg and arm movements during sleep. Limb movement disorder can affect sleep efficiency. People with this condition may have a hard time getting an adequate amount of deep sleep.

REM sleep behavior disorder

People with REM sleep behavior disorder often “act out” their dreams. They experience abnormalities with the paralysis component of sleep that usually keeps people from being active in sleep.

Substance Abuse and Sleep Disorders

A common problem is that some healthcare professionals may not fully explore a history of drug or alcohol abuse in patients who complain of insomnia during a routine checkup. Prescribing sleep medications to patients abusing drugs and alcohol is a slippery slope. It worsens their addiction and may increase the risk of an unintentional overdose. Some people begin depending on alcohol and other drugs as sleep aids. This also creates a viscous cycle that requires interventions like detox and behavioral treatments.

Symptoms of Sleep Disorders

Symptoms of sleep disorders run the gamut depending on the type of condition. General symptoms of poor sleep quality or sleep disorders include:

Excessive daytime sleepiness

Waking up due to limb movements during sleep

Difficulty concentrating

Sleep terrors or night terrors

Ongoing feeling of sleep deprivation even after full night’s sleep

Difficulty falling or staying asleep

Dozing off during the day

Urge to move legs when sleeping (restless leg syndrome)

Live a More Enjoyable Life

At Promises, our clinicians help ease the symptoms of sleep disturbances that may occur with substance abuse, drug and alcohol detox, and behavioral disorders. Call us today to learn more about our treatment programs: 844-876-5568

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